Cut-off for gas-pipes.



J. J. STALEY.

OUT-OFF FOR GAS PIPES.

APPLICATION rum) JULY 1, 1911.

Z SHEETS BHBET 1.

J. J. vSTALEY.

GUT-OFF FOB GAS PIPES. APPLIOATION rum) JULY 1, 1911.

1,030,341. Patented June 25, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JACOB JAMES STALEY, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

CUT-OFF FOR GAS-PIPES.

ea set.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1, 1911.

Patented June 25, 1912. Serial No. 636,476.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB JAMES STALEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cut-Offs for Gas-Pipes;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in out-oil's forgas pipes,

which may be released either manually or automatically in case of fire.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel construction andarrangement of devices as will be particularly described in thespecification and pointed out in the claims. 9

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe devices in position within a wall of a building and attached to theservice gas pipe on the inte rior thereof; Fig. 2 is a front elevationof the devices; Fig. 3 is a section on the line aa of Fig. 1; Fig. 1 isa section on the line Z)b of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of theindicating drum; Fig. 6 is a section on the line co of Fig. 1; and Fig.7 is a cletail view of one of the fusible connections.

Throughout the specification and drawings, similar reference charactersindicate corresponding parts.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, 1 represents aservice gaspipe which leads to the various points of consumption about abuilding. Mounted in the said service pipe, at a point near its entranceto the building, is a cutoff valve. This valve is of the quick-closingtype and may be constructed as follows. 3 represents the shell of saidvalve provided with bosses 4 which receive the ends of pipe portions 1.The shell 3 is also provided with right and left side pockets 5 eitherone of which is adapted to receive the stem of the valve. The said sidepockets 5 are provided with threaded openings 6 adapted to receive plugs7, or stuffing glands 8. Adapted to pass through each of the glands 8 isa valve stem 10, and mounted thereon, in the inte- 13 on the interior ofthe shell 3 and in aline- V ment with the pipe portions 1. The stem 10is adapted to pass through either of the pockets 5, but it will beunderstood'that, when one of the saidpockets is not in use, the openingtherein will be closed by a plug 7. The object in thus constructing thevalve is to allow the stem 10 to be placed on either side of the servicepipe 1, thereby adapting the cut-off to varying conditions due to thedifferent positions of the previously installed service pipe 1. Attachedto the bottom of the shell 3 is a cap 14 which forms a pocket 15 inwhich the gates 2 rest when the valve is opened. The pocket 15 may befilled with oil to prevent the said gates corroding. The oil may beplaced within the valve and drawn therefrom through top and bottomopenings normally closed by plugs 16. The stem 10 of the valve isextended as is shown in Fig. 1, thereby allowing it to be attached toother valves when more than one kind of gas is used in a building suchas natural and artificial.

The valve as above constructed is automatically closed in case of fire,as follows. The stern 10 is provided with a slot 16 which receivesa pin17 on the hub 18 of a lever 19. The lever 19 is provided with a weight20, which, when the lever 19 is released, will close the valve bygravity. The lever 19 is held in an upper position, with the valveopened, by a cord, chain, or cable 21, which extends throughout thebuilding and in proximity to locations most liable to take fire.Connected into the cable 21 is one or any number of fusible connectorswhich may be constructed as follows. 22-22 represent metallic stripswhich are attached to the cable 21 by means of hooks 23. The strips 22are attached to each other by solder 24 which has a low melting point.lVhen the heat from the fire strikes the connection,

the solder thereof will melt, thereby severing the connection andallowing the weight 20 to fall. When the weight 20 falls, the valve willclose, and thus the gas will be prevented from escaping and adding fuelto the fire. It will be noted that the valve may be closed withoutdisturbing the lever 19 and the cable 21, as the pin 17 will ride in theslot 16 when the stem 10 is rocked. The length of the slot 16 is reducedby a curved member 25 which may be placed on the other side of the pin17 when the stem 10 is placed in the opposite pocket 5.

The present invention is especially designed for large factories andother places where extensive pipe systems have already been installedwithout the provision of any means for automatically cutting oif theflow of gas in case of fire. In such a system of piping repairs are morefrequently needed than in cases where the plumbing system is more modernand up to date. IVith the present device the valve or valves may bemanually operated to cut ofi'the gas, without disturbing the automaticconnections.

The valve may be manually closed by the following device. The stem 10 isattached to a rock shaft 26 journaled in a bearing 27. The bearing 27 ismounted in any'suitable portion of the wall 28 of the building, and isprovided with a pan or inclined groove which insures accumulatedmoisture to be drained therefrom, thereby preventing the rock shaft- 26corroding, and becoming fast to its bearing. The end of the shaft 26,opposite the stem 10, is provided with a projection 30 adapted toreceive the standard size of fire wrench in use in city firedepartments. When the shaft 26 is rocked by the wrench, the valve willbe closed, thereby shutting off the gas from the service pipe. Toascertain from the outside of the building whether the valve is openedor closed, there is mounted on the end of the shaft 26 adjacent to theprojection 30, a drum 31 provided with indications On and Ofi. Theseindications may be read through a sight opening 32 in a casing 33attached to the outer end of the bearing 27. The drum 31 is providedwith a projection 34L which extends through the face of the'casing 33,and by means of which the condition of the valve may be ascertained byfeeling. When the projection 34 is at the top, the valve is opened, andwhen said projection is on either side, the valve is closed.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the type specified, a cable having a fusible portion,a member constituting a weighted lever to which said cable is attached,a valve, a member con stituting a stem for said valve, one of saidmembers being provided with a recess and the other with a pin receivedby said re-' cess, whereby said valve is adapted to be manually operatedwithout disturbing the automatically valve closing connections,substantially as described.

2. In a device of the type specified, a cable having a fusible portion,a weighted lever to which said cable is attached, a pin projected fromsaid lever, a member constituting an extended valve stem having a recesstherein; a shiftable curved member in said recess of less length thanthe recess forming a stop for said pin, and a valve casing having rightand left pockets either of which is adapted to receive said stem,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JACOB JALIES STALEY. Witnesses:

HowARD S. SMITH, MATTHEW SIEBLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

